Lawmakers Near Accord On Details of Rescue Bill

The Washington Post reports Congress may be closer to reaching consensus on a bailout plan:

Democrats and Republicans from both chambers met with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. through the afternoon in an effort to forge a compromise on a variety of outstanding issues, including how quickly the government should make money available for the program and whether participating firms should be required to limit executive pay.

Talks also focused on a new issue: how to cover the cost of the program so taxpayers don’t get stuck with the bill.

Under the Bush administration’s proposal, the government would buy assets that have lost much of their value from faltering financial institutions in hopes of restoring investor confidence. That, in turn, could ease the credit crunch that has seized global markets and made it much harder for businesses and ordinary people to borrow money.

Administration officials have stressed that the ultimate cost of the bailout would be much less than $700 billion because the government would eventually sell the assets it purchased and recover most, if not all, of what it spends.